The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1887-06-25
Our Olio.
The Romance of Journalism.

The Romance of Journalism.
An Address delivered before the Alumni Of
Western Maryland College, Westminster,
Nd, June 16, 1887, by Lynn r. Meekins,
of the baltimore american.
After saying that criticism of newspapers
was always good proof of their vigor and
usefulness, he continued: "No newspaper
has ever reached-or will ever reach-per-
fection. A thousand years from now
people will grumble at it just as much as
they do to-day. 1t is-and always will be
"a human institution, with human sins
dealing with human affairs, and refecting
the vice of humanity, as well as the virtue.
Its office is to print the news, to give the
history of yesterday, 10 chronicle the joys
and sorrows, the blessings and the crimes.
The Texas editor who declared that "news-
papers are bad, because so many bad things
happen" summed up the philosophy of the
situation. The only way to make news
papers good is to take the wickedness out
of the world, or to stop people from talk
ing about it. As it now is, nine persons
will read an account of great battle, where
only one will wade through the proceedings
of peace congress. The strength Of the
press consists in part of the very fact that
it gives us picture of human life, with
the shadow as well as the light.
But if we examine the newspaper more
carefully, we will find that crime takes up
very small part of its pages, and that the
columns represent all interests and all de-
partments of news and business effort.
We find the press an inseparable part of
our national existence, an indispensable ad-
junct to our liberty. 1t is the peoples
university, the nations storehouse of facts.
1t has given brains a market value, and has
enlightened and modernizsd every sphere
of labor. Thomas Jefferson said he would
rather live in a country with newspapers
and without government, than in a coun-
try with government but without news
papers. "0nce architecture was the press, y
said Dean Stanley, "and told great thoughts
to the world in stone; but now the press is
architecture, and is building up the world
of ideas and usages." "a journalist !" ex-
claimed Napoleon l. "That means gam
bier, censurer, giver of advice, regent
of sovereigns, tutor of nations. Four hos
tile newspapers are more to be dreaded than
10000 bayonets."
The true greatness of journalism is its
enterprise. In this respect it challenges
the admiration of the world. Nothing in
the history Of the human race has excelled
it. | speak of this country particularly,
because we have in America more papeys,
better papers and livelier papers than all
the rest of the world put together. There
is no interest, no department of human en-
deavor, no variety of principle or creed that
is not represented.
Look at their record In land where
the pational growth has bordered on the
marvellous the increase in newspapers has
been over nine times as great as the Increase
in population, Their value has multiplied
six times as rapidly as the country S wealth.
In the decade between 1870 and 1880,
when the United States went ahead at
steam engine speed, the progress was only
one-third Of the progress of its journalism.
There was no part of the advancement that
did not feel the influence of the press.
Wherever new settlement was opened the
newspaper was there to boom its attractions,
When the Pacific railroads were being built
the printing press preceded the iron rails
and locomotives. Where prosperous city
in Dakota now stands newspaper was
printed on dry goods box before build
ing had been erected, and before the infant
town was old enough to know its own
name.
The newspaper did not wait for the era
of swift transportation, or the telegraph, or
the telephone. 1t pushed ont on its own
behalf. 1t sent special vessels to England
to secure early news; it established pony
expresses from Halifax to New Orleans; it
gave the government its first information
in the Mexican war; it had news schooners
intercepting boats from Europe. When
Daniel Webster made famous speech in
Boston, Henry J. Raymond put printing
press and type on steamer, got his report,
hurried to the boat, wrote it opt, and by
the time New York was reached the edition
of the paper was ready for distribution.
The same thing was done for other cities.
A result of all this enterprise is seen to-day
in our magnificent postal system, which is
indirectly product of newspaper compe-
tition, and to which the newspapers con-
tribute over 81 900, 900 year.
HOW NEWS Is COLLECTED.
Another result was a concentration Of
the various efforts into what is now known
as the Associated Press. This to-day is
the greatest news collecting agency in the
world. There is not civilized spot that it
does not reach, The manager, Mr.. VIM.
Henry Smith, from his office in New York,
figuratively and literally reaches out over
both hemispheres and gathers up the worlds
history as it is made. Nearly four thousand
intelligent, active employees do nothing but
attend to the work of news collecting and
news distributing. A daily average ofl00,-
900 words enough to fill book for which
YOU pay from 81 to Sis sent by the Asso-
- we country. Two million words of ne,
received by cable from the Londor
; &C.. every year. When Gladstone ma